Eating Me
by Roselleoffthewallflower
Summary: During his return to class from a bathroom break Kevin takes notice of a repellent wounded man near the school's Bush outside. After saving his boyfriend he gains a team of friends. (Kevedd). Zombie story.
1. 1 Rescue

Kevin Barr stepped out of the boy's bathroom, his hands dripping wet, and ambled over to the water fountain. Sunlight filled the hall. Bending his head down while he pushed the button to release the clear liquid for himself to drink he decided to gaze at the nature outside. It was a beautiful fall day, the leaves were all vibrant yellows, oranges, and reds. Kevin couldn't wait for the middle of October to present itself again. That was when the ground looked a rich brown in color and next to the colorful leaves on the trees and with a delightful autumn breeze it was perfect.

He bent his head down for more water before pushing himself up and back away from the water dispenser. Kevin thought to take one last look out at the day he was currently missing out on. Something, then, piqued his interest. There seemed to be something in one of the floral bushes down in the school's garden. Kevin maneuvered closer to the window, from what he was witnessing whatever it was in the bushes from appearance didn't explain the usual small animal. No, instead of small rustling a bits of unseen movement from within the bush along with detectable shakes of a few branches that made up the bush there seemed to be something much larger that he'd feel like identifying.

Large areas of the bush were being moved, the whole seven foot tall bush was moving! Kevin stayed and waited, wondering what the fuck was going on.

 _'That couldn't just be a big dog,'_ he mused, _'Looks like someone's trying to knock it down, really.'_

There was what seemed to be one more shove of the bush before whatever had been behind it fell. From what he could see, Kevin was able to conclude that the thing was actually a human man. His jaw was red and bruised, there were dark areas on several places of his arms, he had yellowing of the eyes and open wounds on his neck and arms. His shirt was bloody and he looked as though he belonged in the crital care unit of the most immediate hospital. Just when Kevin got his brilliant idea of calling the emergency number to see if anywhere nearby had a patient missing he noticed something else.. The man wasn't acting right.

He didn't seem as though he could figure out how to stand as he was shifting his body harshly against the ground, it appeared that he was trying to roll over. His mouth was hung open, the redhead guessed he was hollering, maybe for someone to help him up. Kevin lowered his face into his open hand.

 _'Damn this bites, someone's sick and I could help him, but..'_ Kevin thought to himself with a roll of his moss-green eyes. If he went down there to help the man out he was sure he'd be getting a detention. It seemed as though, in his life, adults could never understand. He'd just started school, too. Biting his lip, Kevin chose to rely on his phone for the time. If he had enough time maybe he would take a more courageous route and hurry down into the garden.

Kevin shook his head when he saw the time. Classes wouldn't be being dismissed until another fourth five minutes. Choosing to check on the man one last time he glanced down again. The man was still there, alright. Actually, he was slowly getting on his legs. Now, unfortunately, there was another concern. Down, three stories beneath the teenager's feet were several people who were involved with extreme unhealthiness and from the looks of things a popular thought of most people would've predicted that they were soon going to be attempting to get inside to the school.

Something about the way their skin was worried the high-school student. The sight of them was truly an unpleasant one, as Kevin looked closer he, after a bit, noticed they looked as though they weren't controlling their own movements as a well person would. He thought he hit the nail right on the head while understanding that those "people" appeared to be so ill that they were either colorless or sallow and could be assumed to be decaying. Kevin shook his head as surprise was mixed into his eyes before he stopped and was lead to staring in horror at his discovery of what was below.

Two security guards were outside, making the mistake of approaching one of the gross. The wider of the two guards became even more misguided, he decided to add a confrontation to his list of things to do that day. He walked right up while making gestures with his hands to direct the man in front of him away from school grounds. Before Kevin knew it he was watching the something truly ghastly; the man with the bloodstained grey shirt had grabbed the security guard with one swift motion and broken through the flesh of the uniformed man with his teeth. The guard's shoulder was visibly leaking blood.

They were infected! Kevin had one thought before he jumped into action while his eyes contained shock. The numbers were gaining and the redhead didn't like what those _things_ were. Worse than just the fact of saving his own life from those whatever they were his boyfriend, Edd, was downstairs. The nerdy genius boy was giving an important GPA speech in the auditorium, was close to those things, unprotected, and unaware. Fear entering his eyes, the redhead sprinted to the staircase and rushed down those steps as fast as he could. By the second row of stairs, surely he was breaking a sweat.

Finally on the first floor of PCH Kevin ran away from the stairs and as he hurried to make a right turn caught a quick glance of some of the diseased closing in on the school's front double doors. Barely thinking about it Kevin stepped his success up, in a haste he ran over to the black auditorium doors and threw one of them open.

Double D stopped himself from going any further towards completing the sentence he'd started. He turned his neck after hearing a loud bang to see a familiar jock letting go of the door. Edd glared straight ahead at the man who was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible about completing his journey to the stage in which the ravenette stood.

"Mr. Barr," Double D chastised, "Would you like to provide an explanation as to why you're intruding on thi_" Edd was saying as Kevin quickly reached out and clutched the other's forearm before turning away and jerking him along.

"Sorry," Kevin told him, "Everyone get out of the school, now," the redhead loudly shouted, "Theh-theres something dangerous out their and someone's already gotten killed."

Kevin turned to look at Edd, unaware of the previous reaction he'd had had done to his usually stony demeanor, "I tried to be gentle but I'm not in the best condition right now."

As Edd looked up at him his hard eyes softened, "K-Kevin, you're crying."

Kevin's eyes widened a bit, he hadn't realized that. Again, Kevin reached out and grabbed Edd's arm and began to pull him towards the exit. During this time the other students in the room seemed to be on the phone alerting the police about the information Kevin had given.

..

Edd gasped, eyes wide in horror, as Kevin rushed him through the halls. At one of the windows there was a very unkempt person who was obviously suffering from a deadly disease just banging his forehead against the glass. Upon further inspection Double D could see that the man was clearly decomposing. There was dry, yellow tissue around some of his open wounds. There were signs of gang green, too and one of his eyes seemed to be rotting away.

"Yeah, I know, that's what I tried to warn you about. One of those already took out one of our guards."

"Well, we have to help the others," Double D exclaimed, worry potent in his glaucous eyes.

Abruptly an announcement was made and heard over the intercom, alerting the entire school of the situation and that each student was ordered to stay with a teacher.

"M-Mandatory," Edd loudly questioned like it was the most out-of-your-mind suggestion he'd ever heard in the entirety of his life.

Kevin just stared, "We can't do that. It's not a good idea to stay here, it'll only take a few hours before this place is surrounded!"

"We've got to save Ed and Eddy," Double D yelled right before he snapped his head to the right due to the sound of shattering glass.

From somewhere unknown a girl with a familiar sound screamed.

" _ **Help! Heeelp! Someone fucking do something**,_" the girl's voice yelled with a shriek. It sounded like she was in terror.

The sound of running footsteps came closer quickly and before either Edd or Kevin could comprehend what was happening a red-faced bawling Marie and tearstained Lee had approached.

"Th-they got May," the short-haired bluenette stuttered out.

Edd turned to her before giving her a quick comforting hug. He explained to the sisters that nothing could be done for the poor girl before telling each of them that if they wanted to stay safe to follow himself and Kevin.

Marie turned to her redheaded sister, Lee, with a questioning look. Lee nodded and Kevin, after grabbing his boyfriend's hand and pulling him close took a step forward. Luckily neither of those in critical condition were smart enough to figure out how to get inside.

"We're saving my dorky boyfriend's dorky friends, getting Nazz and getting the fuck out of here," Kevin said in his commanding voice, "Anyone got a problem with that?"

"Yes," Double D answered the rhetorical question, "I do have a problem with that as their are others who make up the student body in this very school, Kevin."

"I don't know if we can save everybody," Kevin told him as he lead his small group up the stairs.

On the second floor was the classrooms of their most appreciated people. Nazz had science at this time and Ed and Eddy were both in the math class they shared.

"Babe," Kevin stated to gain Edd's attention, "You go grab your friends while I get Nazz."

The ravenette nodded before hurrying down the hall for the safety of his two best friends. Along the way he cursed his lack of athleticism before he got to the door. Double D extended his arm and placed his hand on the door knob. To his dismay he was locked out.

Feeling dread he reached into his pocket and took out his student I.D. card.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Double D moaned before the door swung open.

A few of the students gingerly lifted their heads from the arms on their desks.

"What are you doing," Eddy mouthed as he looked into Edd's combination eyes.

Double D looked over to his friends' instructor before demanding he make the right decision and allow hid students to leave. He explained with elaborate detail exactly what was outside and the fact that they are able to make an entrance into the very building the adults were trapping unsuspecting students in. The teacher looked both shocked and concerned as he gazed on at the honesty in his favorite over-achiever's eyes.

"I-I'll warn them all," Mr. Finster said before turning to look at his students, "Don't listen to the announcement, just leave and get out of here quick. Class dismissed," he said, tone dead-serious.

Eddy rubbed the back of his head as he walked out of the class, "What exactly is going on here, sockhead," the brunette asked his friend.

"You'll see, Eddy," Ed said with a hissing background sound accompanying his voice.

"That's right, Ed, as soon as we've reached the downstairs area you'll_"

Eddy grumbled aloud, "What's shovelchin doing here," Eddy crudely asked.

It was then that Kevin ran forward, away from the three girls who all stood behind him.

"Dorky," Kevin said, addressing Eddy, "Tell me you brought your truck to school with you today."

Double D looked Kevin in the eyes and nodded.

Eddy crossed his arms before smirking, "Of course I brought the truck, how else do ya think I _got_ here?"

Anger spiraling within, Kevin threw his arms down, "Look, dork, I was just _ask_ ing. There's kinda something going on here and I'm one to make sure all my friends, everyone I care about, and everyone who matters to Double Dork is kept safe, okay?"

Eddy eyeballed Kevin, the redheads tone held much desperation. Suddenly, it dawned on him and Eddy just about lost it. That was right, something really was going on.

Nervously Eddy quirked a brow, sweat dripping from his scalp, "Wh-what are ya talking about, Kev.. And wheh-wheres May," he asked, stuttering from fear.

A couple students screamed loudly and Kevin, not wanting to waste another second, lifted the shortest Ed from the floor with one hand and carried him over to the window. Losing control, Kevin's arm shook and he shoved Eddy's face against the window glass. He watched as a look of surprise became evident through the other person's features.

"You get it now, dorky, do you see why now," Kevin asked him seriously as he held back the emotions threatening to break through, "One of those things already _killed_ somebody and I'm just trying to get myself, my boyfriend, my friend, and you dorks out of here alive!"

Eddy looked to be frozen right before a sizeable number of students entered the hall. Their numbers were increasing! Kevin snatched the brunette from the window and shook him.

"So, where's the keys, dork, where are they," he asked.

Eddy laughed nervously before shaking his short leg to cause an audible jingle which he knew would qualify as an answer to Kevin, "I got 'em, don't worry," Eddy stated before Kevin dropped him to the ground and put an arm around Double D's back before he lifted him, bridal-style, into his arms. Students continued to rush past the Eds and Kevin, Rolf was one of them. He yelled out an ominous tale about the situation as he flung himself down the hall.

"Alright," Eddy yelled over the screaming students on the first floor, "Lets get out of here."

"Agreed," Edd nodded before the three boys relying on legs hurried over to the three girls who loyally stood by the stairs.

Nazz's hair was a mess, she was definitely freaked out by what she saw, "Someone just, like, bit somebody," she shrieked as the boys walked by, "Kev, just what is going on here!?"

They didn't stop to chat, instead they started hurrying down the stairs, "We're under an obvious attack, Nazz," Double D explained before Nazz's condition stabilized considerably.

"Wull, why do you think that is, Double D?" For the butter-blonde, understanding the answer to the question she'd asked appeared to be far from her comprehension.

Almost everyone in the group gasped as they gained knowledge to what was taking place only several stairs beneath them. Eddy's face was contorted into an image depicting one's disgust. Ed stared horrified, but with interest.

"Sarah's at home with just Jimmy, Eddy," Ed exclaimed loudly.

"Okay, okay, we'll go get your sister," Eddy announced.

"Yes, Ed," Double D said while using his soothing voice as he was carried down the stairs.

The diseased had already gotten in, they'd completely taken out two windows and part of another. Attacks were coexisting, bite after bite was taken out of each of their captures. They were stupid and not picky in the slightest bit. While one of them, a female, held down a young lady she'd caught, a couple other of the diseased tore through her already wounded form.

It was a mess, a gruesome, gory mess. Kevin bowed his head, throwing up all he'd eaten at lunch that day while Double D looked away, hiding his face in Kevin's shoulder and shutting his eyes tight. One of those animals had bitten past his victim's shirt and had ripped away flesh from her body, her pink and bloody bowels were now revealed. Blood was seeping from her wound.

Double D threw his head from the slight of the girl who continued to scream and fight in a frenzy on the floor. Suddenly, he vomited straight onto the floor.

"Dudes," Nazz uttered slowly, "We've got to get out of here, _now_ ," she said in the most serious fashion before commenting what was far from everyone's mind, "Those things are zombies."

While the girl on the floor continued to panic and other students along with a few teachers wore looks of pure terror whilst looking around trying to find a way out Nazz's friends turned to her with their own looks of realization on their faces.

"Zombie or no zombie, I'm getting Double D out of here if it's the last thing I do," Kevin vowed.

"We're gonna have to come up with a plan to get to the lot outside and fast," Eddy said, "Damn.. They're almost everywhere out there," Eddy commented lowly.

"We'll have to take the exit in the gymnasium and follow around one of the sides of the school while eluding them. I believe that route is the fastest to get us to our destination," Double D said as he scanned the growing massacre. The severity of the situation was enough to be that of a gory miniature war. Kevin hopped over the last two steps before setting himself up to dash straight into the gym.

"Mind your surroundings people, you'd safety and lack of contamination is now of the highest importance," Double D advised as he was carried closer and closer to their destination. Keeping an eye out for what was going on, Double D decided to try to save some time they couldn't possibly spare and kicked his foot out after calculating a solution was that his boyfriend had gotten him within a close enough distance to get the door open to freedom to their safe place already.

The door hit the wall, making a racket. Kevin rushed through the doorway and the girls filed in after shoving Eddy away. Marie stuck out her tongue at him as she walked by while he tried to collect himself from the floor. Always the helpful oaf, Ed was there to clean Eddy from the tiles.

Soon after Eddy was back on his feet their entire team was occupying the space they'd entered and heading for the back exit. Double D held the door open to let everyone out. Cautiously, everyone serveyed the school's property.

Kevin released the door handle, allowing it to shut closed mere seconds later.

"It would seem as though something involving our peers has attracted them all to the front of the school," Double D theorized with a finger to his lip.

"Eh, probably can sense the air seeping from the cracks of the doors," Eddy said with a casual shrug.

"Eddy," Double D's voice sounded dead serious, "that has to be the most ludicrous thing I've ever_"

Marie yelled at him to shut up, Edd crossed his arms across his chest and glared at her angrily with his combination eyes.

The blue-haired girl pointed a finger at the ravenette, "You wanna talk about ludicrous? Try absurdity. This place is clear, we're trying to escape and here were are just standing around when we could be running!"

Kevin, ready to say something, fumed due to her having an attitude directed at Edd.

"She's right," Lee stated, seriously, eyeing her sister with her only visible eye, "We should be seizing our opportunity to leave, but instead of doing that we're just standing ar'ound. "

"I was making the attempt to warn you all that it's necessary that we obtain weaponry, ladies," Edd informed, suggestively.

Eddy stared up at his best friend with his smokey-grey eyes. He looked completely confused, "Like what?"

"Oh please," Double D said with a sardonic tone, "Reenter the gym and acquire a couple to several of the baseball teams' solid, wooden bats, Eddy."


	2. 2 To Gain Means of Survival

After Ed collected two bats from the gymnasium he handed one to Eddy who ordered Ed to take the dead blocking their path out. Kevin made a humorous comment to Eddy, betting him five bucks that with Eddy's puny size, the shortest Ed was prevented from being able to terminate any one of their enemies. During this time everyone else watched in awe as Ed courageously fan forward and smacked the wooden bat across the head of one of the zombies. The contact the bat made with its head left a bloody gash and as blood sept from its mouth it timbered over and smacked hard against the ground. It moaned out, leading the smartest Ed to believe that they felt.

Ed continued to move onto to the next one, smashing the bat against its face with enough force to knock into the ground. As it seized across the asphalt in an apparent violent fit of nerve-reaction Eddy burst into a cackle. Blood spilt from its head and rushed from its neck and onto the dark blue ground. Ed did his job of clearing a safe walkway to the truck for his friends, he gained adrenaline as he continued on.

Once at the truck, Eddy pulled the set of keys from the pocket of his dickies and pressed his thumb to the button that soon after unlocked all four doors of his vehicle. He stepped into the truck and relaxed into the seat before he locked the door. Kevin opened the back door with one hand while the other supported Double D who held on, his arms latched around the neck of the redhead who was leaned back to prevent Double D from sliding forward and out of his grasp.

Once the door was open enough, Kevin collected the intellectual in his arms and moved him through the empty space before slowly lowering him onto the seat beside Nazz with ease. Edd scooted over as Kevin slid his back against the seat. Double D relaxed his back against Kevin's chest, causing the redhead's heart to flutter.

Thinking back to the day's previous events, Kevin shook his head back and forth before turning to see his dork gazing into his eyes.

Double D took Kevin's face into his soft, smooth hands as he watched him with love-filled navy orbs.

"My hero," he said before smooching his boyfriend's lips. Kevin's face reddened.

Sage orbs stared into navy blue. Marie, who was in the tailgate with her sister vividly glared daggers into the back of Kevin's capped head.

"I just had to keep you safe," Kevin whispered, shyly, as his thumb gently caressed Edd's flawless cheek. Edd encircled Kevin's torso with his thin arms before he rested his head into Kevin's warm chest. Kevin wrapped his arms around the ravenette's form, holding him protectively as tears spread down his own cheeks.

He had been so scared for Double D's life, more scared for his sake than he was his own. Kevin held him more firmly and closer to him after thinking back to the recent close-calls they'd just faced.

"We're gonna do a drive by," Eddy said, remembering his promise to Ed, "We'll find Sarah, maybe Jimmy, and pick up my weed-stash. Sockhead, any idea how this all got started?"

Double D subtly nodded, the day's excitement, it seemed, had been a bit too much and had exhausted him, "I do have a few theories as to how this came to be, Eddy," Double D replied.

Eddy nodded, displaying his understanding, "Well, share it with me later. I need to get some of this stuff of my mind right now."

"Understandable, Eddy," the ravenette commented before he drifted his head back downward until his cheek made contact with Kevin's chest.

Eddy sighed, thanking whatever possessed him to work for more than a year to buy his dad's old work truck from him. He was so thankful he had it for his own sake and his friends' as well.

..

Approximately fifteen minutes later Eddy slowed the truck to a stop before he parked the white chevy in the driveway of the property he resided in. Double D lifted his head away from the sleeping Kevin's chest while Eddy shook Ed's shoulder to wake him up. While Eddy explained to Ed where they were and to go in his home and gather Sarah and whoever else she had as company the ravenette wriggled from Kevin's arms and quietly exited the truck. From the look of things it seemed as though their little neighborhood had yet to be hit.

Eddy instructed Nazz to maneuver to the front seat and to drive if she saw anyone who'd exited the vehicle in any sort of trouble. Nazz nodded while Eddy made his exit. Double D wandered into his home after unlocking the front door and after taking a moment to listen he warily walked up the stairs and into his room. At his bed he bent down and slid out his labeled first aid kit and his dissection kit from under his neat single bed.

The ravenette stood, eyes looming over to his window. Thanks to the streetlight he was able to detect that Ed had safely acquired Jimmy and Sarah. Edd couldn't help but smile as he watched Ed open the back door of Eddy's truck before picking each of the youths up before he placed them inside of the truck. Double D then grabbed his cactus from his window sill and walked over to his desk. There, at his desk, he gathered his ant farm and the food they needed to survive. The intellectual made sure to collect his laptop, too. At his door he reached for the big, grey bag he'd hung on the hook just five weeks prior. After removing it from the hook he slid the ant farm, the ant food, the first aid kit, his laptop, and his other kit into the bag.

Ambling from his room Double D's mind wandered to his parents. He wondered if they were undergoing a similar situation overseas. Shrugging it off after making a mental note to contact them in the morning Edd walked out of his home. Across the street, Eddy was exiting his own residence, a full bag of vividly green weed and a glass bong in his hand.

After Eddy entered the vehicle and Nazz moved out of the front seat, the door of the truck slammed and beside it stood a perplexed looking Kevin. The redhead looked around, checked the back of the truck and wound up disappointed to see three girls positioned on the surface of Eddy's tailgate. Edd started to walk over to the truck, soon he gained Kevin's attention. He watched as Kevin couldn't help but smile at his latest discovery.

While Edd continued to walk to the vehicle Kevin hurried over, stopping in front of his boyfriend and taking the heavy-weight off the nerd's more delegate shoulder.

"Why, thank you, Kevin," Edd stated appreciatively while Ed, in the background behind the two, reentered his home, "That heavy bag was causing quite the inconvenience which was dissatisfying me to some extent."

Kevin nodded before leaning down and kissing the dark haired teen's cheek, "No problem," he said before he stepped to the side and waited for Edd to walk forward.

After he did Kevin put his arm around the small of Edd's back before he pulled him closer and started to guide him over to the truck.

Ed walked out of the house with a sizeable stack of pillows and blankets blocking his view of what was in front of him. It seemed like the cider-haired Ed had gathered up every blanket within his home. Seeing this, Kevin carefully situated Ed's things in the back of the truck before he walked over and took the stack of pillows from Ed's hands.

"Thanks, Kevin," Ed enthused.

"No problem, big guy," Kevin responded, "I'll get these to the truck for ya."

Ed nodded and continued on over to their transportation. Kevin took the duty of handing everyone a pillow. Ed had only been able to supply them all eight pillows. Kevin made sure that everyone aside from himself got a pillow. He decided it became necessary enough for him to have a pillow he'd just share with Double D.

Sarah and a cowering Jimmy smiled at him when Kevin held out a pillow for them.

While Ed passed out light blankets and comforters to his friends, Edd, out of interest on the subject willed himself to ask Sarah whether or not anyone or any _thing_ out of the ordinary had been by their house earlier that day.

As Kevin took the blanket Ed provided to him, Sarah answered the ravenette.

Kevin spread the blanket over Double D's body and placed the pillow he'd gotten from Ed on his lap.

"No, none of those things came by today, Double D," she said, denying his idea of an encounter, "We were watching Happy King Boy when suddenly the channel was switched over to the news station and because Jimmy heard what they were wanting us to be warned about Jimmy got scared."

The shaking tow-blond boy nodded as he shook. Kevin slid his boyfriend to the side before wrapping his arms around him and pulling him back to his chest.

The young girl with burnt sienna hair and umber eyes that matched her elder brother nodded after the ravenette conversed his understanding. Sarah went back to comforting Jimmy who stared outside, watching the two Kanker sisters cry and talk amongst themselves.

After Eddy grinded his weed into fluffy little chunks he punched some of the bud between his pointed finger and his thumb before dropping it all into the funnel-like glass structure he'd fitted into the small empty compartment of his bong. Then, the short driver moved the bong from the top of his thigh to in between the next to his inner thighs and lowered his mouth into the airhole of the glass cylinder.

Lighting the weed, Eddy inhaled, pacing himself correctly and shortly after, drank down all the smoke that entered the bong. He released the breath he was holding into the air before he sat the bong inbetween Ed's long and sturdy legs and leaned back into the pillow he'd accepted.

"So, Double D, what's your calculation on sealed store-bought items," Eddy asked, smile on his face.

The intellectual shook his head, "I'm not sure. I can't even correctly predict whether or not there's a store that's opened right now."

..

Not too much time after Eddy and Ed finished smoking the bowl the shorter of the two had packed Eddy started his truck up again and drove off. All he told the others was that he was taking them out to get food. The brunette drove into walmart's parking lot around a time period of thirty minutes later. He was a bit surprised to see the bloodstains that were coating some of the areas surrounding the supercenter. Outside stood a janitorial staff member. Next to the bearded man was a large boxcart which contained unmoving bodies.

It kinda wigged Kevin and the girls occupying the tailgate out. Eddy rolled down his window and turned to view the man with the identification pin pinned onto his chest. In blue letters the name Fred was displayed.

"What's the deal with the food, man," Kevin asked, holding his boyfriend as he leaned forward.

"Not one of these things have gotten through those doors," Fred said, smile present on his face, "We've managed," he filled in the final detail.

Eddy nodded before turning to face Fred, "Is it good to eat?"

"All of its still sealed and the stores still got power so I assume everything's okay with it," Fred responded.

"I mean, it's nothing that could make us the way _they_ are, right?"

"I highly doubt it," Fred said to Eddy, giving him the serious eye, "I bought my lunch from the store earlier this evening, back when all this shit started; I think you'll be alright."

Eddy looked into the mirror, giving Double D a questioning look.

"I trust that if we purchase food from here and provide it for our systems that we will all have a positive outcome that will result us without any conflict," Double D stated.

Eddy nodded, "Make sure none of those dead come toward my truck, alright," Eddy asked with his head cocked to the side a bit.

"Anyone else comin' in," Eddy asked as he pulled the keys from the ignition.

Everyone then started shouting their requests to the grey-eyed Ed.

The intellectual calmly shut everyone up before suggesting to Eddy that he'll text him everyone's orders. Five minutes later Ed and Eddy had entered the supermarket and Edd had listed the items Eddy was now required to buy. The driver returned some ten minutes after with a grocery cart of bagged goods.

Ed took hold of each of the bags and held them out to their correct destination. Double D retrieved a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and made the attempt to hand it to Eddy after he was handed his treats.

Eddy put his palm up as a refusal, "It's no problem, sockhead, I got it for free, anyhow," Eddy said prior to explaining that with what happened that day whatever was in the store a consumer was free to walk away with.

Everyone was elated thanks to the news.

"I even got everyone soda," Eddy said before he passed the bag towards the back seat, "Cheers!"

"Cheers," a few of the others said in unison.


	3. 3 Safe, Protected Environment

While his friends and acquaintances ate of their food Eddy drove along the main highway. As he ate his warned cheese sticks from out of the box they were packaged in he headed for the big city. There weren't too many of the deceased along the way, there was a few of them that'd been hit by cars simply lying there in the midst of the road. Eddy expected Edd had the answers to the questions he was pondering over himself.

Eddy glanced back to the back row of seats to see his friend eating his dressed quinoa salad peacefully. There was a content look gracing his face. Now in the city Eddy parked by a bus stop in the downtown portion of the city. Maybe it was his perspective of the subject or maybe he was even jumping to conclusions but Eddy doubted that it was a coincidence that flesh only took a few hours before it began a full decaying process.

The zombies or whatever they were's skin was dull and they were all permitting enough oder for Eddy to lead himself to believe that whatever they had hadn't rotted them to the point they were so suddenly. The grey-eyed brunette packed himself a bowl of marijuana before turning in his seat to face his wisest friend.

Before saying anything, Eddy took a glance outside. Some zombies were stumbling around from what he could see, but also walking outside were normal citizens simply going about their night. He saw couples carrying guns, women dressed for clubs with a shotgun rested on their shoulder. Eddy smiled, maybe it was the weed, but he really felt a little giddy.

"See, sockhead," Eddy said as he motioned out the window, "I told you I'd get us somewhere safe."

Double D popped a nut in his mouth before nodding and spreading a smile across his face, "You've done well in caring for us, Eddy. I applaud you, really. After all," he stated as he looked out the window again, admiring the scenery beyond the doors enclosing them, "I see the safe-side of things. If we would like to sleep it's truly nice to know that if one of the diseased attempts to prey on us we have a strong chance that gaining a savior is our fate."

Kevin nodded before he sighed and extended his fist for Eddy. The brunette promptly bumped his fist to the jock's, "Gotta hand it to ya, dork; you did a good job. Be proud."

Eddy nodded before burning his greens and inhaling the smoke down into his lungs, "So, uh, what's your theory about these rotting bodies?"

Double D gave him a glance, "What exactly do you mean," he asked as he quirked a groomed brow.

"Didn't you see it, don't you remember," Eddy asked. After awhile of receiving no response his decided to better elaborate, "The fact that they seem to've been dead for weeks, that this is only the first day that we begin to notice these things..?"

"Oh, why I do happen to have a theory, yes."

Eddy smacked his hand on the top of his thigh, "Well, let's here it then."

Double D sighed. Unfortunately he hadn't had the time yet to research the subject. All he had then was his wit, "To be honest with you I've been thinking.. What I mean is that is seems like the government may be behind this. Oh, and yes, I did notice how the flesh has been decomposing for quite some time now. For some of them, I'd deduce that their deaths occurred close to a month ago."

"Why would the government do anything like this," Kevin asked, disbelieving.

"Uh, the population issue," Eddy supplied.

Double D nodded in agreement, "Or possibly the money problem or maybe even our economy crisis."

Kevin shook his head as he tried to process what the hell was really going on.

"I've even been entertaining the thought that these zombies were created in a scientific laboratory," Double D spoke to his best friend.

"So, what you're saying is they_"

"Were most likely developed through the use of chemicals? It's a possibility.. Why," the ravenette asked.

"Was thinking maybe you can study one and stop them," Eddy said as he wriggled his brows.

"I did have in mind a reason to take my dissecting tools with me," Double D disclosed wearing a smirk.

The thought of Edd cutting into a body, a dead one at that, discomfited Kevin. That was gross, to settle his nerves the redhead stuck his hand down in the inner pocket of his black leather jacket and removed a cigarette and a lighter. After leaning back in his seat he lit the cigarette prior to cracking the window.

The cool night air hitting Double D's neck had him turning to look at Kevin.

"May I please have one of those," Double D asked.

Kevin nodded before mentally slapping himself and promising to never again be involved in the cigarette use of someone he cared so deadly for.

Kevin passed Double D a cigarette and the lighter before the intellectual struck it up and inhaled. It wasn't as bad as Double D had always reasoned it to be. The menthol tasted kind of good actually and other than feeling the difference of being calmer opposed to nothing was a bit of a plus. Something else he noticed was that smoking the cigarette seemed to have no other effect on him.

"You wanna try some weed, too," the brunette asked while he made a move to grab the bong just in case to partake became his friend's decision.

"I suppose I could try it once," Double D said before trading the cigarette he was gradually smoking on for the bong. The ravenette struck the bic and lit the rest of the green in the bowl, inhaling it seemed to be the most difficult thing he'd ever gotten himself to do. Swiftly, Double D forced the pipe away from himself and coughed out the smoke harshly. Kevin began comforting Edd by rubbing his back softly.

"You okay," he asked while glaring at the brunette who was laughing pretty hard.

Edd nodded and reached for the cigarette, trading the bong back to Eddy as he did.

"Congratulations on your first hit, sockhead," Eddy told him.

A finger started tapping at the glass. Kevin reached over and slid the window open with his fingers.

"Hey," Marie greeted, sounding like she'd just woken up, "I need you to take me to a bathroom."

"Just grab a bat and walk like less than a block, there's that bar right over there," came Eddy's suggestion.

"I can't, they won't let me in there; I'm not eighteen and they ID at this hour," the bluenette said.

Eddy shrugged before turning his body around and stretching his legs down to the floor.

..

On the way back from the gas station Eddy passed a cop, luckily it passed by him, too. Edd, who was trying to keep his illness down, had smoked the entire cigarette he was giving and felt faint, dizzy, and sick. It occurred to him that it was a good thing that Kevin hadn't realized his disposition yet.

Unexpectedly, Double D started to feel like he was going to throw up. He tapped his hand against Kevin's chest before confiding in the redhead how he felt. Kevin's mouth repositioned into a visible frown. The redhead sat the ravenette up and told Eddy to pull over before he gently dragged Edd across his legs and opened the door. Double D emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground cover below.

Eddy passed the sickly teen a bottle of water to which the ravenette graciously accepted. Taking a swig of water, Edd thought out an apology before voicing it to his boyfriend and to his best friend. They were both cool with it. Well, Kevin somewhat.

"This is why I was against you smoking. You know you throw up sometimes over the smallest nervous reaction."

It was true, Edd was known for getting an upset stomach over a spell of bad nerves. Kevin bent his head down and kissed the ravenette on the forehead.

..

Eddy who had returned to the spot he was previously parked in around an hour ago. As he chilled and smoked weed while reclining against the pillow beneath his head. He could hear the two boyfriends in the back softly kissing eachother and whispering sweet things into the air.

"I love you so much, baby," Eddy heard Kevin say to his friend before he heard him sniffle. It made Eddy feel kinda bad for the guy.

Eddy sighed dejectedly.

"A-and today I was so worried about you.. I-I just don't know what I'd do if I lost you," he heard the redhead continue.

When they'd first gotten together during their freshman year Eddy was none too happy. Kevin _was_ the object of the shortest Ed's animosity afterall. It all dated back to when Kevin and Double D started hanging out together on a friend-basis. Eddy had gotten pretty ornery over any utterance of the subject. They were still just kids in middle school at the time. Not too long after Kevin began hanging out with Edd did he developed a crush. Kevin admitted his feelings to the intellectual only to get shot down. After staying at home, moping around for three days he was asked whether or not he was gay. It had all been thanks to a snooping Jonny who held a preference for the large branch of the tree planted in Double D's yard. Without shame, Kevin confirmed to anyone who'd asked the truth, that he was indeed gay.

Another week went by before Kevin worked up the courage to face his crush again. Weekly, due to the subject, Kevin asked Edd why he was shot down. Double D told him the reason was because he didn't want a boyfriend who used to beat him up. Recalling his childhood and how much damage he'd caused the nerd in the past, Kevin apologized. The two continued to hang out, over time they grew to know eachother better. The two were practically inseparable.

Three months into their freshman year, Edd came out bisexual to Kevin, Ed, and Eddy. Each of them congratulated him and once again, Kevin asked him out on the couch of Double D's home. Double D asked the redhead to give him time, venting he would have many matters to bring into consideration. Kevin thanked him for what he defined as a chance and for a few days, it was left at that.

Almost a week later Double D gave him a positive response. Kevin insisted he take the ravenette on a date and had pushed him out the door.

Eddy carefully placed his bong on the floor before he leaned into a more comfortable position. Ed was loudly snoring away in the passenger seat and in the back row everyone had drifted off to sleep already. Kevin and Edd were snuggled up in eachother's arms under the soft plaid blanket Ed had tossed them.


End file.
